Patriots say Hernandez, Belichick exchanged 34 texts

Aaron Hernandez.Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe/file/Pool

Only days after prosecutors released court papers documenting evidence against former NFL player Aaron Hernandez, the New England Patriots on Friday sought to clarify some of the information concerning the team and the man accused of killing three people.

The papers released by Bristol prosecutors on Monday said authorities had 33 pages of text messages between Hernandez and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

But on Friday the team disputed that, saying Belichick and Hernandez exchanged 34 total messages, not 33 pages, of messages.

“Earlier this week, a report indicated that an exchange of text messages between the team’s head coach and Mr. Hernandez totaled 33 pages,” a lawyer for the team, Andrew Phelan, wrote in a statement. “While it is unknown how the texts were printed or displayed, I thought it was important to clarify that during an early investigation conducted by state prosecutors, the team produced a total of 34 text messages, not pages of texts.”

Phelan also said the text messages were culled from a five-month period from December 2012 to April 2013. Prosecutors had said the messages were sent between February and May 2013.

The Bristol district attorney’s office did not immediately return calls Friday night seeking clarification.

In addition to the texts between Hernandez and his coach, the filings released Monday revealed that investigators interviewed Belichick, team owner Robert Kraft, and other Patriots employees. Authorities also searched the locker of a Patriots player.

The filings did not disclose the contents of the text messages or what Patriots employees told authorities.

Last week, the Patriots agreed to turn over 317 pages of Hernandez’s medical records to his defense lawyers. But the team has refused to hand over scouting reports or a psychological report prepared before the 2010 NFL draft, where it selected Hernandez.

Hernandez, 24, is charged in the 2013 slaying of Odin Lloyd, whose body was found in an industrial yard near the former Patriot’s North Attleborough home in June 2013.